Tall, slender bamboo poles rise along the banks of the Ganga, their tops adorned with wicker baskets holding flickering diyas that glow in the fading light, seemingly reaching out towards the endless skies.

The "Akash Deep", or sky lamps, at Panchganga Ghat in the holy city of Varanasi are part of a centuries-old tradition, observed to this day by people who travel from far and wide to pay homage to their ancestors.